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Son James Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

It attracted itself new customers ? Correct ?

The Apple attracted ( ) thousands of new customers with its impressive advertising campaign.

1.itself 2. some

It is said that its correct answer is (1) itself. I was really surprised at it because I thought It should be "(2) some". I couldn't understand why the sentence needs "itself" as a reflexive pronoun.

Is it okay that The Apple attracted thousands of new customers with its impressive advertising campaign. I think I can definitely put "some" in front of "thousands", because "some" can be used regardless of whether the number or the quantity. Is it should "a few" in any case ? Could you explain to me why it should be "(1) itself" ?

Thanks in advance.
  

Top answer

The Apple attracted ( ) thousands of new customers with its impressive advertising campaign. itself 2. some It is said that its correct answer is (1) itself.

— Clive

  • The Apple attracted ( ) thousands of new customers with its impressive advertising campaign.
  • itself 2.
  • some It is said that its correct answer is (1) itself.
  • I was really surprised at it because I thought It should be "(2) some".
  • 'Some thousands ' is not wrong, but it suggests a much smaller number than if you say just 'thousands'.
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11 Answers
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The Apple attracted ( ) thousands of new customers with its impressive advertising campaign.

1.itself 2. some

It is said that its correct answer is (1) itself. I was really surprised at it because I thought It should be "(2) some".
'Some thousands ' is not wrong, but it suggests a much smaller number than if you say just 'thousands'.
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Since I couldn't recall the exact name of the company in the question, I have replaced to "Apple". Thanks to you, I have learned we don't need to put "the" in front of company's name, and also found the question was a wrong question. Thanks a lot,Mr.Clive.
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It is clear that you understand reflexive pronouns. In this instance these pronouns are easier understood by example and explanation. I want you to get a clearer understanding what the speaker is emphasizing when using reflexive pronouns in this manner.

The Apple attracted itself thousands of new customers with its impressive advertising campaign.

If we didn't use itself we wou
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Thank you for your kind explanation. Then, can we use Itself" in the sentence? Even though the verb of "attract" is one of transitive verbs, we can sometimes use it as a ditransitive verb as the verb of "give". Isn't it Right ? Thank you so much,Ms.Cynthia!
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Attract is acting like a ditransitive verb in this sentence. I want to some research to verify this, but I can see by the structure below that it is behaving this way.

The Apple (subject) attracted (verb) (to) itself (indirect object) thousands of customers (direct object).
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Thank you so much for your answers. Sometimes I have found there have been wrong sentences in English books in my country. I thought it is a kind of that. Anyway, I'm keeping your teachings in my mind that sometimes we can use the verb of "attract" as a ditransitive verb. Thank you so much,Ms.Cynthia.
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You are so welcome. I still want to do a little more research to see if I can find a more detailed description for you. I want to make sure I am absolutely right. I think that I am, but I still want to make sure. I don't want to tell you anything that isn't hundred percent correct. Okay?
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Cynthia, I disagree. I find it very unnatural to use "attract" with a reflexive pronoun this way. You can earn yourself a reputation, you can give yourself a new outlook on life, you can find yourself a place to live, but (in my opinion) you can't "attract yourself" anything. It's just not used that way.
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Thank you for your answer. Anyway, I think such a question is not good to asking foreigners. I means, the problem is not the question itself,not is the person who has made such question.Mr.Clive as a native speaker has confirmed it is a wrong question in the above. I believe him and also I believe you,Ms.Cynthia. I have already decided that the question is not good for foreigners to learn English
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Cynthia, I strongly disagree. I am a well-educated native speaker, and I have never seen "attract" used ditransitively. Moreover, the Oxford English Dictionary (1973 edition - the only one I have access to) does not give any such usage.

In the example sentence from the original question, "itself" is always incorrect.
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